I can't help but smile every time that I walk into my living room these days. I have had a vision for that room since we purchased our home. Sure over the years we've made it a nice cozy space, but it always felt as if the room was in transition. It never felt finished, just a transition space where we sat down and looked at flyers and fed babies. Christmas was the only time I really felt that the living room was worth living in and even then the aging furniture did the room a major disservice. Thankfully the tree and holiday lights created just the right ambiance and made it  more comfortable.

Don't get me wrong I was happy with what I had done to make the room ours, but it wasn't my dream space.

In August (I won't say what year...) we started a simple kitchen update. Next thing I know, my awesome husband and his amazing brother start tossing around ideas and BAM! the wall to the upstairs was cut in half, the doorway to the kitchen was gone and so was the doorway to the living room.  I was thrilled with how open the space turned out. The light flowed through the space and it was instantly more appealing and inviting (even with drywall dust all over the place). I tried about 10 different shades of gray before settling on one that I really liked. Not too dark, not too light, cozy not cold.

The living room is finally done and I can say I am more than happy with how it turned out! You don't need to spend a ton of money to upgrade your home. Paint and a few accessories can go a long way. We lucked out as the furniture was a Christmas gift from my amazing parents. Given a budget and Kijiji you can find great stuff to help you get more for every dollar. This particular set was in a "for show" living room, it is only a couple of years old and is in brand new condition because the room was barely ever used.

The rug was also a gift- if you come in under budget, you can use the rest of your allocated funds for another piece! I realize that the rug is slightly undersized for the space however because of how small the living room/ dining room is, the next size up would have been too large for the space.

Drum roll please!........

Voila!

Details:
Main wall colour: Nimbus by Benjamin Moore
Accent wall colour: Thunderbird by Benjamin Moore- they have updated some of their colours. I went with the old colour for thunderbird. The new colour isn't as light and airy.
Trim: Polar White by Behr
Sofa and chair: The Bay
Blue throw pillows: Threshold by Target
Beige thrown pillow: Joe Fresh (many years ago...it was in our bedroom but looked just right on the chair)
Rug: Threshold by Target
Curtains: Threshold by Target
Art in entry: Local graphic artist
Accessories: Scentsy, Target

Clearly I have a thing for the Target home section. I'm so sad they are closing. The upside is that I have no choice but to pick up the items on  my must have list before they are gone.

Dining room reveal will be hitting to blog in March and I've got a goal of revealing our kitchen by May!

Whole 30~ Week 2 & 3 Meal Plan

Well it's day 6 of the Whole 30. We haven't been perfect but we're getting there. Part of my problem this week has been a bit of poor planning. I knew what we were going to eat but honestly by Friday night I was exhausted and the kids had cheese pizza for supper because I just didn't want to cook. Last night I planned for the next two weeks and will do a cook day on Sunday and as an added bonus if this works out as planned, we'll be under budget for our groceries over the 2 week period! Here's what will be on our plates this week (and next):

Breakfasts

• Scrambled eggs & bacon
• egg/ veggie muffins
• smoothies & Paleo banana pancakes (had these this morning and they were pretty good!)
• Paleo breakfast cookies (I'm using dried fruit not chocolate chips)

Lunches

• left overs
• Red thai curry spaghetti squash
• Butternut squash soup
• Salads with a protein

Suppers

• Pork roast and roasted veggies
• BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Sausage and peppers
• Chili (no beans!) 
• left overs

Snacks

• Apples with almond butter (I'm in love with this!)
• Energy bites (probably just the "brownie" bites)
• raw veggies

I'm doubling the recipes and freezing half of every dish so that we have meals ready for next week. Now that I'm back to work full time, it's a daily headache to figure out who is going to eat what for three meals a day. That bloody "What's for dinner?" conversation is happening again...